The Fox and the Ghost
by dragonsong2795
Summary: The night of the Genin exam after defeating Mizuki, Naruto instead decides to leave Konoha. After Four years he stumbles back into the view of Konoha after being presumed dead. He meets someone he'd never thought he'd see again only for her life to be irreversibly bound to his. With his quiet life as a bounty hunter shattered, Naruto rises to the new challenges presented. AU


_ANs will be at the bottom from now on._

**Prologue**

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_"Slave Seals: In the Elemental Nations slavery is still practiced in areas, some is institutionalized like the __**Cursed Bird Seal**__ (See Page 28) of the Hyūga Clan (Refer to Pages 15-20 Volume II) But otherwise it is done with a seal known as the Servant Seal. The servant seal restricts the maximum distance the 'servant' can travel from the 'master' and is forced to follow the 'master's' commands. It comes in three levels, Lesser in which the 'servant' can travel up to 25 Kilometers away from the 'master'. Greater in which the 'servant' can only travel 15 kilometers from the 'master' but gains some of the 'master's' skill and power, commands can be more contrary to the personality of the 'servant'. and finally the Ultimate level seal, the 'servant' can only travel 5 Kilometers away from the 'master' but the 'servant' gets all of the 'master's' skills, physical and mental strengths and stamina/chakra reserves, note the reverse is true for the 'master' as well (Counter-Note, Bloodlines (Pages 25-30 Volume I) cannot be transferred by the seal) Ultimate Servant Seals also give the 'master' total control of the 'servant's' actions and can be used to fatal consequences by malicious or sadistic 'masters'. Finally while the Lesser and Greater seals can be disabled, the Ultimate seal CANNOT if the 'master' is slain the 'servant' dies, sadly the reverse is not true" Page 134 Ninja Encyclopedia Volume X Seals and Tags_

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_Unknown location_

He'd come to the realization that he was hated earlier than most villagers would think, tonight he'd been given a chance to follow his dream, but he had seen the stares and heard the whispers. So he'd decided to leave, to find his fortunes elsewhere. To be free from this living hell of loneliness and despair. He left his headband in Iruka-sensei's mail-slot.

_Twenty minutes later_

He quickly clambered over the last four feet of the wall, he turned and smiled taking one last look at the village that had been both home and hell for the last twelve years. Then he jumped and flew off into the night.

Naruto Uzumaki was free.

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_Four Years Later, Island of Solitude. 120 Kilometers west of The Land of Water._

_Fear_

It hammered through her heart, she'd thought that she'd grown stronger. She was wrong, so wrong. She'd been on a routine mission with her old teammates, every since they'd made Chunin they'd been split up and for the first time in months were working together on a mission, that's when it'd gone downhill. They'd been staying in a inn, and one night as they'd slept. She'd been taken. Why only her, she didn't know.

Suddenly she can hear strange sounds, then she notices the sounds weren't strange at all. They are the sounds of fighting, of men dying. Then she feels a blow to the back of the head, and all she knows is darkness.

She wakes, and she looks up into the eyes of a dead man, she'd been told that he'd died, they all had. In an act of camaraderie all of the genin of her and Naruto's year level and those a year above and below had shown up at the funeral, as had many villagers. They'd cried as the truth of his heritage was revealed. Above her was a dead man, there was only one possibility. She had died and was now in the afterlife

For above her was a dead man, or possibly an Angel.

Naruto Uzumaki-_Namikaze_ the forgotten prince, the despised heir.

She didn't know what to do when he spoke. It was only two words, but they would change her entire existence

"I'm Sorry"

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_I Know I have many stories left uncompleted or at a pivotal moment and I'm sorry, but this idea and several others has been bugging me and I had to do it. For now the story is a single pairing, but it may become a harem. I'll put a poll up. Plus I'm handing out a virtual cookie to whoever can guess who the woman is in the second half, I intentionally left it vague, it could even be an OC (Not an impossibility either) The only two clues you have are A. She's in Naruto year level (But it could be someone brought back to the academy for various reasons like Anko) and B. Her entire team only just made Chunin (But as stated there could have be demotions so it could be any girl in the Narutoverse, as long as they are from Konoha the possibility remains. I could even be someone underage like Hanabi or Moegi who managed to graduate early)_

_As I said whoever gets it will get a Virtual Cookie and a honorable mention in the next chapter. The Harem if voted for will be at most four girls, who have already been chosen._

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_dragonsong2795_


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